IntroductionThere
comes a time in every man’s life when he completely loses control. It
happened to me at the early age of 30 and it was nothing short of
embarrassing. Despite being fortunate enough to have a rack full of the
coolest audio/video gear in the world, I could no longer effectively
manage the operation of my system. I had 11 – count ‘em – 11 remote
controls for everything from my projector to my SACD player to my VCR
to my HDTV tuner to my TiVo and so on. The process of watching a movie
or even listening to music had become a pathetic display of flailing
remotes, missed commands and overall system failure. Something had to
be done.

The solution was to invest in a big-time remote control
system. The two most prominent players in the market are AMX and
Crestron. I chose AMX for a number of reasons, including the fact that
they offered a better size-of-screen-to-price proposition at the time.
I also liked their hardware a bit better in terms of physicality. While
there are some philosophical and technical differences between the two
brands, both are excellent. What makes one remote system vastly
different than another is programming, a topic I will discuss at length
later.

The idea of a desirable large-scale remote system includes a nice big
touch screen remote. I opted for an AMX MVP 7500 with the kickstand
option, which retails for about $3,200. In addition to that, one needs
a control unit for hardwiring the system. In my case, this was an AMX
NI3000, which retails for about $2,500. Power supplies for the control
unit and the remote itself are additional, as is a wireless network
from a player like Linksys for under $100. There are all sorts of
options you can add to such a system, including a docking base for
recharging that has a keyboard for Internet access. As my system is
configured, it cost about $6,000 in raw parts.

When
considering an upgrade from a universal remote or no remote system at
all, the idea of a control unit like the NI3000 might seem excessive.
However, it is this hub that affords you the system stability that you
and your system engineer are seeking. Most of the best components today
can be controlled via RS232 connections. This method of wiring a system
is similar to how you might connect a video monitor, complete with hard
wire connections that screw into place. It is very stable.
Unfortunately, not all components even today have RS232 connection
ports; therefore, the need for IR controls is still a reality. My VCR,
my high-definition TiVo and my SACD player have IR emitters glued to
their fronts, which are then connected to the back of the NI3000. While
it is no fault of the AMX system, these less than perfect connections
using IR emitters have already failed a number of times. In the future,
all components will connect in a way that is physically and
electronically stable. Until then, IR is a necessary evil, but when
these are installed well, there shouldn’t be too much trouble. In my
system, where review gear comes in and out pretty frequently, things
are always under construction, a situation that is tough on those
little wires sometimes.

Touch Screen Remotes
The star of the show is the AMX MVP 7500 7.5-inch LCD touch screen
remote. It is built very solidly and requires two hands for use. It can
be operated as a main system remote or can be installed seamlessly into
a wall for comprehensive whole-home control of an incredible list of
convergent technology. The MVP 7500 talks with the control system via
wireless 802.11B wireless Internet connectivity. As mentioned earlier,
the MVP 7500 can be docked into a station (retail price $2,400) that
allows Internet access from your wireless network on your screen or in
your theater. I have an Apple iMac right around the corner from my
theater, so the additional expense wasn’t worth it for me. However, the
base is a more efficient way to dock the MVP 7500 for recharging than
my cell phone-like power supply for my touch screen.

The
AMX MVP 7500 boasts AMX’s G4 graphics engine for pretty sophisticated
images, graphics and animation that can spin, morph or flip with the
help of a clever programmer. The screen is a 640x480 pixel resolution
touch screen LCD unit that has a 20:1 contrast ratio. While 20:1 might
not be state of the art for a $30,000 projector, the image on the AMX
VP 7500 looks strikingly bright and resolute in your hands or resting
on a table. The MVP 7500 has anti-glare features to make it work
fantastically in a well-lit room, as well as in a darkened dedicated
theater room. There are a number of hard buttons on the AMX MVP 7500,
including four vertically integrated buttons on the left side of the
remote and a square button similar to what you might see on a satellite
or cable remote located on the right side of the remote. The exact
programming of these buttons can be configured to your tastes. I
specified the top two buttons on the left to always be volume and the
bottom two buttons to always be lights up and down for my Lutron Grafik
Eye controller. The hard button on the right is synched to my DirecTV
HD TiVo, but those features are also on my screen for that source and I
find myself using the onscreen buttons more often for the TiVo.
However, I use the hard buttons for volume almost exclusively.